Current Projects

Grow Montana is undertaking the following projects to inform the state's economic development policy and action agenda:

FoodCorps
Montana's FoodCorps aims to improve access to healthy, locally-grown food for kids, and provide new markets for local farmers and ranchers. As full-time, year-round VISTA volunteers, the FoodCorps team builds and tends school gardens, helps cafeterias serve locally-grown meals, and educates students about how and why to eat healthy, locally-grown food.

Since 2006, Montana's FoodCorps has been growing together with many partners including Grow Montana, National Center for Appropriate Technology, Montana Campus Compact, Communities in Action AmeriCorps VISTA, and our community host sites.

Visit our new blog for more information, including past success, more about our host communities, updates from the field, and how you can get involved.

Montana's FoodCorps is proud to be a model for a new national FoodCorps, which launched in August of 2011 with fifty members in ten states!

Farm to Cafeteria Connections is a network of foodservice professionals, farmers and ranchers, and leaders in Montana's local food movement who are working together to create and grow Farm to Cafeteria programs in Montana. We learn from each other's experiences and provide simple and easily accessible resources to anyone interested in serving local foods in an school, college, hospital, or prison. Read More »»

Governor's Food and Agriculture Summit
Grow Montana actively served on a planning committee supported by the governor's office to bring together Montana's agricultural, hunger/nutrition, economic development, low-income and other diverse interests to begin finding common ground. Over three hundred Montanan's attended and got more engaged and active.
Read more about the results »»

Food System Research
Redeveloping a Montana Food Processing Industry: The Role of Food Innovation Centers
by Jessica Babcock
This professional paper aims to increase understanding of food innovation centers in order to contribute to the discussion surrounding the desired redevelopment of a Montana food processing industry. The eleven food innovation centers examined here offer facilities for food processing and testing, and many include technical assistance for marketing, business development, and regulation compliance. The research objectives are threefold: 1) explain both the historical and contemporary context of food processing in Montana, 2) describe and analyze what other states and provinces are doing with regard to food innovation centers, and 3) utilize the research findings to make recommendations for how food innovation centers may or may not address identified needs regarding food processing in Montana. The report concludes by outlining recommendations and options for establishing a food innovation center network in Montana. Read the Full PDF Report »» [PDF/575K]

Unlocking the Food Buying Potential of Montana's Public Institutions: Towards a Montana-based Food Economy
by Drs. Fraser Mcleay and Nicola Barron
This report analyzes Montana's public institutional food service markets, and Montana's food and agricultural producers' capacity to serve those markets. The results describe Montana public institutions as an important stepping stone for Montana food producers to tap into the broader food service market. It also emphasizes the need for investment in food system infrastructure to meet the needs of these markets.
Executive Summary »» [PDF/72K]
Read the Full PDF Report »» [PDF/575K]

Tracing the Chain: An In-Depth Look at the University of Montana's Farm to College Program
by Dr. Neva Hassanein, and 10 UM graduate students
This report follows the food chain of the UM's Farm to College program's purchases of local and regional food for campus dining halls and retail outlets. The research team looked at the social, economic, and transportation-related benefits and challenges associated with supporting local agricultural economic development.
Download the Executive Summary »» [PDF/345K].

Find more Montana and National food systems research »».

On the Ground Work
Grow Montana steering committee members assist with the on-the ground work of Montana's ag producers, food processors and other entrepreneurs attempting to develop new food products, new markets and enhanced distribution. Their experiences will inform us of additional constraints and opportunities we need to tackle. Please follow the links on our homepage to visit with our steering committee organizations individually.